Cedars-Sinai Names Vice Dean of Medical Education

Laurence Katznelson, MD, a national leader in graduate medical education and a distinguished physician-scientist in endocrinology and metabolism, will join Cedars-Sinai as vice dean of Medical Education on May 1.

Katznelson will oversee Cedars-Sinai’s Graduate Medical Education, Continuing Medical Education, the Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills, the Chuck Lorre School of Allied Health and the Medical Library.

“In the newly created role, Dr. Katznelson will expand and strengthen Cedars-Sinai’s interdisciplinary education and training for physicians, academic clinicians and allied health professionals while fostering the integration of medical education with research,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the Medical Faculty.

Katznelson comes to Cedars-Sinai from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he serves as professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine and as associate dean of Graduate Medical Education. He also serves as chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee for Stanford Health Care, where he is medical director of the Pituitary Center.

In his capacity as associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, Katznelson centralized access to innovative curricula, enhancing education in quality improvement and fostering grassroots engagement among residents and fellows. He established the Resident Safety Council to develop high-impact quality improvement projects, spearheaded the Stanford GME Diversity Committee to expand recruitment and opportunities, and championed wellbeing and safety initiatives to cultivate a healthier clinical learning environment.

“Dr. Katznelson is known to lead by example with kindness, grace, humility, professionalism and humor, and we look forward to him bringing these wonderful characteristics to Cedars-Sinai,” said Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education at Cedars-Sinai. “We look forward to his many contributions as a key leader in our growing education enterprise.”

Katznelson has published research in the highest-impact peer-reviewed journals and has been recognized for his academic education leadership. He is the recipient of the Laureate Award for Educator of the Year from the Endocrine Society and the H. Jack Baskin, MD, Endocrine Teaching Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

He received his bachelor’s degree in genetics from the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical degree from UCLA. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

“Cedars-Sinai is a national leader in medical education,” Katznelson said. “I am eager to join the team and advance this exciting work. I look forward to developing new strategies and programs to train and educate new generations of clinicians and investigators.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: U-GROW Program Prepares Future Scientists for Graduate School